Sparano?s house is up for sale, though not for the reason you think

Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano put his home up for sale two days after his team blew a 15-point lead to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos to drop to 0-6, leading to speculation that the end of Sparano's tenure in South Beach might be near. The coach insists the timing is coincidental and that he and his wife, who are empty-nesters, simply want to move closer to the beach.

The five-bedroom, 5,659-square-foot house has gone on and off the market a number of times this year, reports Ben Volin�of The Sporting News:

According to a listing on Zillow.com, Sparano originally listed his house for sale on Jan. 13, five days after Ross awarded him with a contract extension through 2013 that would pay him a total of $6 million. He removed the listing in March, re-listed it two weeks later, and removed it from the market again on Sept. 10, two days before the Dolphins opened the regular season against the Patriots.

Sparano originally listed the price at $1.75 million, and put it back on the market Tuesday at a price of $1.499 million. He paid $1.7 million for the house in April 2008.

Even if the timing is pure coincidence and has nothing to do with rumors that Sparano could be gone as soon as next week, the coach shouldn't bristle if asked about it. A guy who's on the verge of getting fired on Sunday shouldn't choose Wednesday to clean his office and bring stuff to his car in a cardboard box. We have to keep up appearances here, Tony.

If Sparano says he wants to move, let's take him at his word. And if he's looking for someone to overpay for that house, he should find Hue Jackson's number. That dude loves buying at more than the list price.

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CBA Negotiations Broke Down Friday Afternoon. Reactions Have Been Less Than Positive.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s I’m not prepared to say things have completely “blown up” in CBA negotiations, but indications seem to show that a barrier exists between the two sides. Though details on when the sides will reconvene are currently unknown, talks have stopped�during a day many thought might be one of the last before the finalization of [...]

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NBA allows arenas to reschedule games to accommodate Kanye and Jay-Z

Reason 14,982 why the NBA has not negotiated in good faith with its players? They've set to attempting to "negotiate" with the players union with a mediator present over the last week, knowing full well that they've already given two NBA arenas the go-ahead to reschedule suddenly open dates on former NBA game nights to give to concerts and other events.

Yes, Virginia. The NBA owners never had any interest in playing any games before Christmas. Ever, ever, ever.

(OK, maybe they do have some interest. It's been a rough week.)

This is from Kevin Ding at the Orange County Register, via Matt Moore at EOB:

But let it be known that the league already has taken another game off the schedule. The Lakers' still-scheduled Dec. 13 home game against the Toronto Raptors will not happen under any circumstances then and there.

That's because the NBA has already allowed Staples Center to vacate its commitment to the Lakers that day and schedule an extra date of the Jay-Z and Kanye West concert tour.

According to a statement from the NBA: "With the cancellation of the first two weeks of the season, the NBA schedule would have to be reworked and certain dates ? including Dec. 13 for a Lakers game at Staples Center ? would not be part of any revised schedule."

Actually, it's two additional NBA games already on the move, because the league did the same thing to accommodate another Jay-Z and Kanye show at Chicago's United Center on Nov. 30, when the Bulls are currently scheduled to play the San Antonio Spurs.

Ding points out that the "go ahead and schedule stuff" edict from the NBA wouldn't really make much of a difference to arenas this late in the game, because any facility holding 20,000-plus seats would have any show or act that could fill those seats booked months and months (and not just two months) in advance.

Both Kevin and Matt concede that it is possible that those games, those specific games, were taken off the schedule to accommodate the possibility of a hurried-up schedule that would be the result of an agreement that could save the final two weeks of November's schedule, or a season that started sometime in the first two weeks of�December.

I concede that, yes, this is probably the best and the most likely take on things. And they're doing their job in pointing this out to you, and I'm doing my job in pointing their points to you within this forum.

The cynic in me is doing his job by pointing out that the NBA wants a 50/50 Basketball Related Income split with massive penalties for luxury taxed teams and massive rollbacks on the way teams out-spend the salary cap to sign their own players (you know, for continuity and fan bases and team chemistry and all in a sport with just five to a side), and they never really wanted a compromise. They wanted to destroy the union on its way toward getting what it wanted, while throwing a bone to the major market teams that would stand to lose untold millions by way of a canceled half or full season.

So, let's compromise. Best case scenario for the start of a new season? Dec. 15? Just in time for Los Angeles to enjoy Kanye and Jay-Z, and make me look like a fool for suggesting a Dec. 25 start.

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
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? Rodriguez slips by Rosinsky to remain unbeaten

After all, why let anyone else who works within or without the NBA look like a fool? Don't we have enough of those already?

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Puck Headlines: Kane denies trade request; hazing; Fake Zetterberg

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

? Is there something wrong with your screen settings? Does Jay Beagle actually bleed purple? No, silly, it's the Pittsburgh Penguins' special purple practice jerseys which will be auctioned off as part of Hockey Fights Cancer. [Penguins]

? It's official the 2012 NHL Draft will be in Pittsburgh which is, incidentally, a short drive from Columbus. [Penguins]

? Jersey Fouls on Friday, Friday, Jersey Fouls on Friday.

? Does James Reimer have a concussion? One Toronto Maple Leafs player says yes; everyone associated with the team that wears a suit is trying to downplay it. Sigh ... Brian Gionta ? the Matt Cooke of Lilliput! [NatPost]

? If you've not read this story about hazing in Manitoba ? water bottle carriers tied to scrotums and such ? it's a disturbing one. [Y! Sports]

? Say, would you like to end the practices of hazing? Call the cops. [Buzzing]

? Kyle Turris's agent joined NHL XM Home Ice to declare it's not about money, and "I think if you saw the way how the season played out last year, it doesn't take a rockets scientist to see it's not a fit." He also dabbles in a conspiracy theory about the NHL owning the Coyotes and therefore it's the League imprisoning his client. �[XM Radio]

? Evander Kane wanted to make it clear the he hasn't asked for a trade from the Winnipeg Jets: "I haven't asked for a trade, I'm happy where I am and I expect to be here for a long time. ? I guess people in social media come out with stories and spread rumours. I stay away from that kind of stuff." [QMI]

? Brayden Schenn is out with a broken foot. Well, good thing no one went out and picked him up for their fantasy ? crap. [CSN Philly]

? Max Pacioretty faces the Boston Bruins for the first time this week since the Chara affair. Said Coach Claude Julien: "I can tell you honestly the one thing we're happy about and that would be for anybody else is that he's healthy. As a player in the league, you don't want to see somebody in the league end his career on an unfortunate accident but what you want to see is a player come back and be healthy. As far as that's concerned, he's healthy, we've turned the page and now it's time to move on." [ESPN Boston]

? Welcome back Adam McQuaid from his neck injury. [Bruins Blog]

? Why Alex Ovechkin is now the second best left wing in the NHL. [Cubeta]

? We may revisit this later, but Gary Bettman has teased a Minnesota Winter Classic, with this caveat: "An important element of doing the Winter Classic is obviously the national TV ratings, so we have to be comfortable that whatever matchup we're going to do will do a good number." So get ready for "HBO 24/7 Penguins/Flyers: Road To The Winter Classic at Target Field." [Russo]

? Congrats to Erik Gudbranson for sticking with the Florida Panthers. [On Frozen Pond]

? Wild Puck Banter has traced the source of the Minnesota Wild's problems in the postseason, and she's blonde. [WPB]

? Michael Farber on Ilya Bryzgalov: "Like wide receivers in Chicago, Philadelphia just hasn't been able to get this goaltending thing right, at least not since the early days of combative Ron Hextall in the late 1980s." [SI]

? Barry Melrose can stop handing out his Mullets of the Week now. He's given one to Jaromir Jagr. The universe has been set back in order.

? Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery gave his mask artist a "no boxers" mandate, which obviously didn't cover Chief Jay Strongbow. [In Goal, via Justin S.]

? What is the New York Rangers FanCam? "What is the FanCam? This high definition image will capture Madison Square Garden in its entirety, and fans will be able to "step inside" the 360 degree gigapixel image and look around during this frozen moment of time. The resolution of 20 billion pixels is so high that fans will be able to zoom in to find themselves or their friends, "tag" themselves in the photo, and share via email, Facebook, and Twitter. Fans can even cruise around Madison Square Garden to see who else was present at the game." [Rangers]

? "Islanders' 1993 Division Playoff Banner Lives in a Fan's Attic." In an odd twist of fate, Rich Pilon is living up there, too. [Botta]

? Watch Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins sprays his dirty water all over New England. [Eye on Hockey]

? Where Ryan Carter and Steve Bernier fit in the New Jersey Devils organization. [Devils Advocate]

? More debate about visors from Blades of Teal: "So how could the NHL and NHLPA take a hard stance and get everyone on board with using a visor? The answer seems simple enough for me: hit players in the wallet. That usually gets them to listen." [BoT]

? Stephane Da Costa gets his moment to shine for the Ottawa Senators, skating with Daniel Alfredsson. [Sens]

? Still no Drew Doughty for the Los Angeles Kings, but Johnny Quick's between the pipes. [LA Kings Insider]

? Say, maybe using the bankruptcy courts to hasten the sale of NHL teams is just not worth the trouble. [Globe & Mail]

? Losses and gains for the Dallas Stars in the offseason that produced the winning hockey team we see today. [Pegasus News]

? Do the Dallas Stars play boring hockey, and if so zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzdroolzzzzzzzzzzz [Defending Big D]

? A brief conversation between a panda and a Hello Kitty type about the Columbus Blue Jackets. [Dark Blue Jacket]

? Finally, the first webisode of Fake Henrik Zetterberg is here. There's a lot of setup in this one, but the idea of the Detroit Red Wings star in "Office Space" is intriguing.

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Rivers falls apart late in Chargers? frustrating loss to Jets

According to the always excellent Scott Hanson of the NFL Network, a full third of the league's games this season have seen fourth-quarter comebacks. The New York Jets added to that total with their 27-21 win over the San Diego Chargers at MetLife Stadium, but they had a lot of help ? specifically, help from Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

After San Diego got off to a 21-10 lead late in the second quarter, everything just fell apart in the second half. The Chargers didn't score in any of their last six drives, and those drives ended a little something like this: Punt, punt, punt, interception, interception, downs. And as frustrating as Rivers' two picks were (and just one of them was really his fault), it was the curious decision to throw out of bounds on fourth-and-3 from the San Diego 49-yard line with 11 seconds left in the game.

Erm, again: The decision to throw out of bounds on fourth-and-3 from the San Diego 49-yard line with 11 seconds left in the game. Yeah, that turned the ball back to the Jets, who kneeled down once and ended the game. Down six, one of the game's best quarterbacks wasted his last shot at a comeback.

On this week's edition of our game preview podcast with Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup," I asked Greg what he thought might be wrong with Rivers, because he's looked off much of the year. In this game, he completed just 16 of his 32 passes for just 179 yards, one touchdown, and the two picks.

"I don't think Rivers has been as sharp throwing the football," Greg said. "I think he's missed some throws that he usually makes. The thing that's always impressed me about Rivers is the way he stands in the pocket ? there can be four, five, six people around him, and he's oblivious to them. He just has a remarkable ability to throw the ball with bodies around him without seeming to be aware that they're there. But I would say that overall, he's not been as sharp or as consistently accurate as we've seen in the past."

The tape certainly didn't lie against the Jets, and that's a problem if the now 4-2 Chargers want to do any damage in the postseason beyond winning an AFC West that looks ripe for the picking. Without Rivers playing at his best, the Chargers are effectively sunk.

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Great Seeing You Again

When Matt Barnes announced his plans to set up a Golden State Warriors charity game featuring the ?We Believe? 2006-07 team against the current roster, there was a reason for the entire basketball community to be excited. Of course, that team is beloved in California?s Bay Area, but the same held true for the rest [...]

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Puck Daddy chats with Pavel Datsyuk about Red Wings, realignment, working at Tim Horton?s and Halloween

Pavel Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings were undefeated before facing the Washington Capitals in a Saturday night showdown. The Capitals routed the Red Wings, 7-1.

Was this the first "real" challenge for Detroit this season?

"I wouldn't say that. Every opponent is a serious one. Don't underestimate other teams!" said Datsyuk. "I don't agree with you here. Yes, some teams didn't start well, but our wins don't come easy. But you can consider the Capitals to be one of the favorites. They have a good, balanced, young team with a good goaltender."

Myself and Dmitry Malinovski, Sovetsky Sport's correspondent in Detroit, spoke with Datsyuk after the Red Wings' win over Columbus and their loss in Washington. This is a combination of those two discussions. As usual, Pavel discussed a variety of topics, including realignment, his wax statue and Halloween. Enjoy.

Q. When you played Washington you were the only two undefeated teams in the NHL. It must have been a test for you still?

DATSYUK: "Yes, of course it was a test for our team to play against a good, fast team. Unfortunately, we failed that test. But on the other side, it showed what we have to work on, it told us what kind of conclusions we have to draw. There is plenty of time. I wouldn't say that they beat us as convincingly as the score may suggest, but they capitalized on the opportunities they were given at the right time, especially on the power play. It was actually very entertaining for fans. But for us, there is plenty we have to work on. The more work there is ahead of us, the more my eyes sparkle!"

Niklas Lidstrom played his 1,500th career NHL game and you couldn't give him a present ? a win, or at least help him score a goal.

"Of course, there is some bitter taste after games like this. We didn't play bad, but the scoreboard shows the score. And it's not just about special milestones, when you lose like that the effect stays. Nik was a bit upset. But we have to congratulate him on the achievement. It is a very big milestone. All I can do is remove my hockey helmet for him. He is such a great player and a great person. You can always rely on him and take him with you on spying missions."

But did you give Lidstrom a present for him 1,500th career NHL game?

"Yes, the score: 7-1. I am sure he will keep the score sheet."

Do the Red Wings feel the competition for fans now that the Lions are doing pretty well in the NFL?

"There is no competition. The situation in Detroit is very difficult due to the economic crisis. And I think all of the Detroit teams playing ? the Red Wings, the Lions, the Tigers ? we are all trying to cheer Detroit fans up, make them a little bit happier in these tough times. And sincere thanks to all the fans who come to our games, who find the time for us."

Your schedule in the beginning of the season was very light: You played five games in the first two weeks of the season.

"I think it's fine. It's not for nothing everyone keeps saying that we are an old team. We were just spared, we were given more time to rest. I wish it was like that all season."

Wouldn't you rather have these days off at the end of the season, or is it better to enter the playoffs at full speed?

"It is difficult to say. We take what we are given. It would be worse if we weren't given any days off at all, or in the middle of the season."

Tomas Holmstrom is no longer on your line. Do you miss him?� No one steals your goals.

"I am always for him playing on our line. But we are soldiers and we are ready to play in any combination. Of course, we have been playing with Homer for a very long time, we are used to each other. We already miss each other. At least we play together on power plays, at least that's good."

Tell us more about your job at Tim Horton's the other day.

"Well, next year maybe we will have a lockout. So, maybe I will have to work part time somewhere. I am trying to find myself, trying to find the best fit, the best profession for the lockout. It was important to get some experience. Some guys were finding themselves at tire places, and I always wanted to learn the back end of how coffee is prepared and served. I wouldn't say I made any coffee, but it was interesting to see how it's done. But seriously, it is a very tough job."

Halloween is just around the corner. Any plans to trick or treat with the team?� Have you picked your costume yet?

"Actually, I don't have a costume yet. I am still shopping for one. We are definitely going to have something with the team, but I am not sure of the plans yet. I have one costume in mind ? one of Jason from Friday the 13th."

Also not long ago you visited a local police training facility. Did you get to shoot an AK?

"No, they didn't have it. They only have some M-guns, handguns. It was interesting. We were told about their job. It is a very dangerous job. But I am not a really good shooter. I am more of a fisherman, not a hunter. I love fishing."

The discussions about the Red Wings switching conferences are continuing.

"On one hand, of course it would be great because we would reduce the number of miles we fly considerably. It would be interesting to try ourselves in a different conference. But until the chickens are hatched we can't really count them. So, people can discuss whatever they want. But nothing is certain at this point. I just hope we won't be realigned to the KHL."

Alex Ovechkin was presented with his own wax figure on Monday at Madame Tussaud's in Washington DC. Where would it be possible to see a statue of Pavel Datsyuk?

"I don't think you will see it anywhere. And if you do, it will probably be made of paper. Cardboard paper. I am a cardboard player."

The Red Wings will give away a few Fathead posters in the near future. They already have one such giveaway of small Jimmy Howard posters. Maybe there will be a paper full size Pavel Datsyuk.

"This is really interesting! I would actually like them to add me some height so I would appear more powerful. And I would also like to get me one of these. But it is really cool that our team cares about our fans and gives away presents like that."

The Red Wings, until the last couple of years, weren't known for doing a lot of community events.

"This is not the case. We always helped our community and held various events. Maybe it wasn't done so publically, maybe there weren't so many, but we always helped. Maybe it's just we weren't followed around by cameras. But as I mentioned, this is such a difficult time right now. And I am happy that we are more involved, we are happy to participate. We want to support the people, we want to surprise them.

"For example, we heard so many kind words that we made people's day when we were all over the city serving them. It was so great to see happy faces when I was serving people coffee."

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